The flame leaves of the Amur maple

The star of today's postcards is the Tatar maple, its subspecies Amur maple (Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala (Maxim.) Wesm.). It has narrower and more dissected leaves than the Tatar maple (Acer tataricum L.). The natural habitat of the Amur maple is the Far East, Korea, Japan, eastern Mongolia, and the native distribution of the Tatar maple is eastern and central Europe. Both subspecies are frost-resistant and tolerant to environmental pollution. At the same time, they are decorative, making them ideal plants for use in urban green spaces around the world.

The Tatar maple is most beautiful in autumn. At first, the ripening seed wings are colored in reddish tones against the background of dark green glossy leaves, there are many seeds and they can be seen from a distance. After the seeds ripen, the wings lose red pigments (anthocyanins), become gray, unsightly, but by this time anthocyanins begin to accumulate in the leaves. And the Tatar maple continues to attract the attention of people passing by.

Siko Kagama, a disciple of Matsuo Basho, expressed his admiration for the maple in poetic form. Of course, I cannot say for sure that it was the Amur maple that Siko Kagama praised in his haiku. It could have been either the Downy Japanese Maple (Acer japonicum Thunb.) or the Smooth Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum Thunb.), both of which grow in Japan and both of which have red leaf ornamentation to match our postcard hero. But I don't think it matters. If Siko Kagama lived in North America instead of Japan, he could admire the Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum Marschall), whose leaves also turn beautifully red in the fall.

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